Rory Sloane

Eye surgery sidelines Adelaide veteran

The Crows have revealed the midfielder required surgery this week on a detached retina.

Published by
Mitch Keating

Former Adelaide captain Rory Sloane has undergone eye surgery to fix a detached retina, with the procedure set to keep the veteran midfielder at home for the coming days.

Sloane experienced symptoms relating to the matter and had surgery on his eye on Tuesday, a similar operation that sidelined the 33-year-old during the 2021 season.

The Crows onballer missed four matches after reporting blurred vision at training, eventually making his return to the field after a month out of action.

Adelaide has confirmed this week that Sloane will spend the next five days at home recovering from surgery, with a clearer pathway for his rehabilitation to come once he returns to training.

"Pleasingly the surgery has been a success and Rory is now in recovery," Adelaide high performance manager Darren Burgess said in a club update.

"As is typical with Sloaney, he is very positive and given he has been through this before he understands what the process will look like from here.

"He will spend the next five days recovering at home and given the nature of the injury we will be guided by the specialists and his recovery before deciding on a return date for training."

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 11: Rory Sloane of the Crows leaves the field with a suspected eye injury during the round 21 AFL match between the West Coast Eagles and the Adelaide Crows at Optus Stadium on August 11, 2019 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Sloane was able to play out the majority of the 2021 season following his first eye procedure, with an ACL injury curtailing two-time best and fairest's following campaign.

The senior Crow returned to the field last season for 22 matches, averaging 18.14 disposals and 5.14 tackles per game.

A month out of action for Sloane could see the midfielder miss his side's first of two practice matches, which is scheduled for Friday, February 23 against Port Adelaide at Alberton Oval.

The Crows have another pre-season hitout with West Coast the following Saturday before turning their attention toward a Round 1 bout with Gold Coast at Carrara in mid-March.

Published by
Mitch Keating